HGVs and Road Traffic Accidents

May 2, 2014

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are involved in more and more fatal traffic accidents each year. Research commissioned by the Campaign for Better Transport has shown that HGVs were implicated in over half of all fatal motorway accidents and 1 in 5 of all fatal accidents on the country’s ‘A’ roads. This is a negative trend which has shown no sign of slowing.

Campaign for Better Transport has asked the government for more support and restrictive measures to limit the accidents caused by HGVs on the road, in the hope that it will make the roads safer for all drivers. Year on year the problem with HGVs is increasing and it is something which really needs to be changed.

On every type of road the risks as an HGV driver are higher than any other type of road user. Even on minor roads HGVs are 5 times as likely to be involved in a fatal accident as any other vehicle and these statistics suggest that the safety of lorries may even be taking a turn for the worse.

There are suggestions speed limits may increase as well as the trailer length limits for HGVs. Both of these factors will inevitably make driving more dangerous for HGV drivers. Allowing even larger lorries onto UK roads will not help the rising number of fatalities.

Driving for Work: The Real Risks

It is well known that business drivers are at higher risk than regular private road users. Business drivers in fact have collision rates which are up to 40% higher than those of private drivers and it’s believed that around 25% of all vehicle miles made in the UK each year are for business purposes, not including commuting.

Not all business drivers drive HGVs of course but the annual risk of dying in a road traffic accident as a business driver is significantly higher than the risk of all other workplace injuries, according to the Health and Safety Executive.

Shockingly as many as 200 road deaths and serious injuries on the roads a week involve someone who is working at the time of the accident. Tiredness plays a large role in this and can be a problem for HGV drivers in particular. Approximately 300 people are killed every year as drivers fall asleep at the wheel and up to 40% of all these road accidents involve a commercial vehicle.

Driving is the most dangerous profession there going purely by statistics. Around 800 to 1000 people killed every year whilst driving for work annually which is a much higher number than the around 250 who are killed due to accidents filed under RIDDOR.

Road Traffic Accident At Work

Being involved in a road traffic accident is traumatic whether you’re a professional or not. Where an accident is not your fault and another party is negligent you have a right to compensation. At Lamb & Co. we are entirely dedicated to ensure you receive 100% of that compensation and will fight for your rights to it.

Lamb & Co are a member of the accident claims panel of personal injury solicitors.

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